Share this:

Like this:

A photo of the Blackwood River as it was five years ago. To the back left you can see water – this was where the river once ran but the intervening spur of vegetation covered sand before it shows how the river silted up. To the back right the river disappears and enters the ocean. You can see the silt clearly. Beyond the photo to the right would be a view of the ocean eating into the dunes towards the river.

Not long after this photo was taken a new cut was made (just below the tree line in the foreground) to allow the river to flush and to allow boats in and out. The silt at the old river mouth was making it too difficult for boats. The cut was controversial as it was said to be inadequate, however, it seems to be working from my persective, and the boats can easily come and go.

The silt creates the delta effect, that triangle of sand in the river mouth or nearby. The Blackwood is breathing again as the Cut has given it life after silt.

Like this:

A beautiful sunny September day out in the wheat-belt, at a favourite spot – Baladjie Rock. I love the way the light streams down, and the effect on the clouds. The dark line in the centre is a bird, a wedge-tailed eagle, a magnificent bird to observe. It had been raining in previous days, but this was a beautiful sunny and warm day and spring was certainly in the air.

Like this:

These are cogs or spockets, which are wheels with teeth or prongs. These cogs drive a clock, a time piece on display in the Swan Bell Tower.

It was a controversial project because of its cost and seemingly unimportant connection with W.A. The cost was $5.5 million, and now it seems so trivial. The then Court government commissioned the tower following a donation of twelve historic bells from St. Martin-in-the-Fileds church in London, six other bells from a London foundry, and the rest made from donated ore from W.A. mining companies. We finally got there some time back and enjoyed the bells and the display. It is one of the only West Australian millenium projects that came in one time, on budget, and still remains open, and makes a contribution to the community through education. I really learned a lot that day and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Nothing like the wheels of time to stir the heart and mind.

Like this:

In January, Melbourne (and now Sydney) city council began removing homeless people camping in the CBD. The Melbourne council denies that the removals had anything to do with the Australian Tennis open which was due to commence and the removals were happening, and in some ways they were probably telling the truth, because they continued after, stating that Melbourne has many events every year and the the open was not the reason.

But nothing in Melbourne comes close to the aggressive approach in London, where a new term has been coined -called “defensive architecture” and used to describe deterrence measures like spikes to prevent people sleeping in public places.

A sick and cruel idea. Fortunately in London there are activists who provide mattresses and other materials to cover the spikes to enable the homeless to use these spaces again.

It seems to me that we have drifted from a society that could care fro its people to one that cares for the illusion of wealth, success, pristine streets, for the illusion of no poverty, homelessness, no problems. There is a self-deception when we judge the homeless, and we should take note that it can happen to anyone as the data shows from any of the care agency records.

When we fail to care for the homeless we condemn ourselves.

Homelessness is rarely a choice of lifestyle but a necessary way of surviving. I prefer to live in a real community where we attempt to attend to the needs of each other rather than a cold, plastic, individuated illusion, a deception of real life and real people.

Like this:

When we see the word commit we might think of marriage and the expectation of fidelity, that when you make your vows you will keep them. Or if you commit to a process, like joining a club, committee, or working group, that you will follow through. What about nations? Australia was a proud signatory to the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights, including Article 14 on Refugees. In 1951 Article 14 was expanded into a full convention in its own right in 1954 .This was ammended to accomodate the changes since WW2 with the 1967 Protocol. We signed, but since 1996 we have turned our backs not only on the Convention and Protocol, we have failed in our commitment to the vulnerable. We don’t have a refugee crisis, we have a moral crisis. We have not kept our promise. We said we would commit but instead we turned away.

Like this:

I’ve always wanted to be kept in the loop. But when I think of loop, I find it hard to get past the days of scouting and learning knots, I loved knots, there was no end of them. Generally speaking, loops are foundational for most knots. So maybe in that way I’m kept in the loop.